[mou] North Shore Notable Birds

[shawn conrad]

I spent some time yesterday and today hiking, birding, and camping along the North Shore with my family.  The 2 days turned up 71 species with several highlights:
 
- Snow Goose (2), Ross's Goose (1), Cackling Goose (several) - Two Harbors golf course yesterday, also Cackling Geese (3) at the McQuade Road access yesterday & one lone Cackler on the lighthouse walk in Grand Marais today
 
- Northern Pintail (1) - with several species of more common ducks and coots at the Grand Portage sewage ponds
 
- Harlequin Duck (1 female-plumage) & Black Scoter (1) - coincidentally, found these at Paradise Beach this morning unaware of today's previous report
 
- Northern Goshawk (1) - along 61 about a mile east of Hovland
 
- Black-bellied Plover (2) - gravel drive near Agate Bay in Two Harbors
 
- American Golden-plover (1) - McQuade access
 
- Pectoral Sandpiper (11) - Beaver Bay sewage ponds
 
- Thayer's Gull (1 adult) - Knife River
 
- Black-backed Woodpecker (2) - 1 in the trees at the trailhead parking area at the Beaver Bay sewage ponds, 1 at Stoney Point in the spruces by the rock wall at the first bend
 
- American Pipit (1) - oddly enough, this lone bird was sitting in the middle of Forest Road 164, east of White Pine Lake north of Lutsen, not far from a recent clearcut but still in a fairly wooded area
 
- Rusty Blackbird (1) - Beaver Bay sewage ponds
 
- White-winged Crossbill (1) - in the spruces near the NPS fort in Grand Portage
 
Also, Lapland Longspurs and Horned Larks pretty much everywhere.  Huge flocks near Agate Bay and throughout Grand Marais.  Most of the lake was dull except for Horned Grebes.  One Hermit Thrush on the Sweetheart Trail in Grand Marais.  Fox Sparrow and singing Ruby-crowned Kinglet in Grand Portage State Park.  Taconite Harbor and Lutsen sewage ponds were the most boring stops on the way.  Shawn Conradhttp://users.2z.net/itasca_chippewa_birding/  
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